Decorative surface coatings have been manufactured for many years. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,187 to Shortway et. al, there are disclosed processes for incorporating small decorative chips or flakes of various colors and hues in the wear layer of a floor covering. These relatively small decorative chips or flakes of various hues and colors are included and are present substantially uniformly visible or discernible by persons viewing the resilient floor covering. When a pattern or design is provided in the resilient floor covering, the relatively small decorative chips or flakes of various colors and hues are visible and discernible in substantially all parts of the pattern or design. And, if the resilient floor covering is of the embossed type, whether chemically embossed, mechanically embossed, or otherwise, the relatively small decorative chips or flakes are visible and discernible in both the raised and depressed portions of the resilient embossed floor covering.
This substantially uniform appearance of the eye-catching, relatively small decorative particles, chips or flakes is normally not undesirable or objectionable but sometimes there are occasions when it is desired that the decorative particles, chips or flakes be limited or confined to certain selected portions of the pattern or design, or to certain raised or depressed portions, if an embossed or textured type of resilient floor covering is involved. This is rather difficult to accomplish, inasmuch as the easiest and most economical way to include the decorative chips or particles in the product is simply to incorporate such decorative chips or particles in the formulation of the wearlayer whereby such decorative chips or particles become substantially uniformly dispersed during the mixing of the formulation subsequently applied to the main portion of the resilient floor covering.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,727 to Kaminski, there are disclosed processes for overcoming the problems of the visible and discernible particles, chips or flakes in all parts of the pattern or design wherein the relatively small, eye-catching decorative particles, chips or flakes of various colors and hues may be incorporated substantially uniformly in the wearlayer during formulation and mixing, but wherein such relatively small, eye-catching decorative particles, chips or flakes are discernible or visible only in those portions where it is desired to be discernible or visible and be indiscernible or invisible in those other portions where their appearance is not desired or required.
Such processes included the uniform distribution of decorative particles, chips or flakes, over the full surface area and thus excessive decorative particles requirements for any design. Additionally, the latter disclosure demanded excess processing requirements, i.e. extrusion of a sheet of a blend of decorative particle in a resinous base followed by granulation of the thus formed sheet prior to blending such granulated particles in another resinous base preparatory to extrusion or calendaring of a sheet of the blended granulated particles for overlying a gelled printed foamable resinous polymer composition.